Fate Is A Funny Thing
by xXDemonKitsuneXx
Summary: Everyone knows the Titanic was meant to be the best ship at the time in England, so one would guess the personification of said country would want to embark on its famous voyage. But something stops him from going on the ship, something that he now thanks


**[ A/N – I seem to write on anniversaries of bad things… huh. Most dates and names are obviously not made up, nor the newspaper article which I found online. Also I clearly wasn't there for the sea trials etc. so I don't know how they went. This time, it's about my own country, and a subject I'm very interested in. Again, I mean no offence and know how silly it may seem to place anime characters in events that **_**did **_**happen and **_**did **_**affect many lives.**

**I am actually working on a few longer fics at the moment, but with exams at school, it's hard to get time and inspiration. I guess this is to show I'm still alive and writing to those who care ^^'**

**Feedback/critique appreciated a lot.**

**Unfortunately, I don't own Hetalia :( ] **

Fate Is A Funny Thing

Not many countries believed in the concept of fate after the disasters of war and poverty they had seen over the centuries. They had given up hope that a force greater than them was guiding and helping people through life, and had taken it into their own hands to protect their nations and its citizens.

However, Arthur Kirkland had encountered fate before, no matter how many times he said it was pure luck; something that he would never forget, and think about for years to come.

Especially today: the 15th of April.

2nd April, 1912

Arthur had almost fainted with excitement when White Star Line had contacted him to announce the RMS Titanic had been completed. He had observed a lot of the construction, and even helped design some of the First Class rooms of leisure, which he looked forward to lounging in on the maiden voyage to America.

He had rushed to Belfast Harbour that morning to see the ship in the giant slipways that had been made to accommodate it.

J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman of White Star Line, walked over to Arthur as he gazed up at the ship in awe.

'Amazing, isn't it Mr Kirkland?'

Arthur turned to see Ismay grinning at him, obviously proud of his work.

'It certainly is. May I ask when it'll set sail?'

'Planning for the 10th of April. Just wait until the Americans see this coming into port, eh?'

The two of them chuckled before Ismay invited Arthur to join the crew on the sea trials to make sure everything was working smoothly. The Brit nodded vigorously to the proposal, and spent the rest of the day helping the crew any way possible to deem the ship seaworthy.

Later that evening, when the Titanic had been given approval, Arthur had joined the sail to Southampton before the maiden voyage six days after they arrived.

8th April, 1912

A sharp knocking sound at the door awoke Arthur in his hotel, to which he grumbled and sank deeper into his covers. The knocking sounded again, this time with a voice calling his name.

'Sir, we have your boss on the line. He wishes to speak to you about something important.'

He squeezed his eyes shut, counted to five and rose out of bed. He was never much of a morning person.

'It better be!' Arthur said, trying to flatten down his hair and glancing at his watch before opening the door.

5:45

'Uh… I can give you a few minutes to get dressed if you want.' The messenger said, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur looked down at his nightclothes, his cheeks reddening somewhat at slammed the door in the messenger's face, muttering about it being 'too bloody early' and 'need tea'.

'I'll take that as a yes, then?'

'Oi, less of that!'

'Of course, sir.' Arthur swore he could hear the smile in the messenger's voice as he yanked the door open again after hastily throwing on trousers and a jacket. He was led to a room behind the front desk, where a phone was held out to him.

'Hello?'

'Ah, Arthur, you made it. Sorry for calling you up like this, but a meeting was organised for the 10th of April, where you shall meet with Mr Bonnefoy and possibly Mr Beilschmidt at 11:00am. I would like you to come to London today so you can prepare anything needed. Okay?'

Arthur had been nodding along to what the Prime Minister was saying, but one piece of information clicked in his head after being processed.

'T-the 10th April? But sir, that's the maiden voyage of the Titanic. I've been looking forward to this for weeks. I-'

'Mr Kirkland, your job is more important than a voyage of a ship. Yes, I have also been keeping tabs on it, but this meeting _must _go on.'

'But sir, couldn't it be held before-'

'No, Arthur.' Asquith cut him off again, sounding irritated. 'If you want to go sailing so badly, then wait for Titanic's sister ship, what was it, RMS Olympic. This meeting cannot be postponed, and you must put your people before your hobbies! Have I made myself quite clear?' he snapped.

Arthur sighed, replying with 'Yes sir. I'll be there.'

'Very well. Goodbye, Arthur. There will be hell to pay if I find you've gone on that bloody ship.'

Dragging himself back up to his room and falling onto the bed, Arthur's spirits had been crushed. The Titanic was all anyone was talking about, and he was so happy to get a ticket for one of the biggest and best ship to leave his country and make a name for it worldwide.

He half-heartedly got ready for the day, not in the mood to fall asleep again. He decided to spend a few hours in town before leaving, mainly hanging around the dock where the Titanic was anchored, gazing longingly at it while everyone bustled around him, excitement building as the 10th drew nearer and nearer.

Making one last visit to Ismay and Captain Edward John Smith to explain the bad news and wishing them the best of luck for the journey, Arthur headed back to the hotel to pack his bags and embark back to London.

10th April, 1912

'Ah, it's good to see you, Mr Kirkland.' A woman behind a desk greeted him warmly in the building that normally held the country meetings. 'What brings you here today? I thought you were on the Titanic.'

'Uh huh, so did I.' he glumly replied, frowning slightly.

'Then what on earth are you doing here? There's no time to get to Southampton by noon!'

'I came for the meeting that Mr Asquith has set up with the frog.'

The smile slid off the receptionist's face and was replaced with a look of confusion.

'There is no meeting today. At least, no one's contacted me about it.'

Arthur's eye twitched, trying to comprehend what she'd said. 'No meeting. There's no meeting?'

The receptionist nodded gravely. 'I can check if you want, Mr Kirkland.'

'Please.' He said, attempting to keep his calm composure. 'If you would excuse me for a minute.' Arthur breathed in deeply and exited the building.

The receptionist picked up a telephone and put in the number of the Prime Minister. Just as it was ringing, she jumped a foot in the air as a loud voice bellowed from outside.

'FUCK!' the voice dragging out the vowel was unmistakably Arthur's, and the woman glanced outside to see him with his hands pulling forcefully on his hair and bashing his head against the wall. She barely registered the phone had been answered as she was too distracted watching Arthur with her mouth hung open.

'-you want. Hello? What do you want?'

'Oh. S-sorry. Arthur Kirkland is here saying that you arranged a meeting for him. I've got no record of this and was wondering if there's been a mistake somewhere.'

Asquith coughed on the other end of the phone. 'Yes, erm, the meeting was to take place today, but our guests are…running late. Yes, running late. Could you tell him it's been moved to next week and I'll contact him then, please?'

She glanced outside to see Arthur now cradling his forehead in his hands, now resorting to kicking the building, and said 'Yes sir, but I'm not sure how he'll take that.'

'Well, it'll be made up to him somehow. Thank him for turning up though. Goodbye.' And the line went dead.

The receptionist sighed as Arthur made his way back inside, fists clenched and limping.

'The meeting has been moved to next week as no one has shown up yet.' She said meekly, wondering if she should get medical help for a small trail of blood making its way down Arthur's face, or hide under the desk in case he flipped out again at the news.

Arthur gritted his teeth. Forcing a smile onto his face, he ground out 'Well then. Thank you for your time.', and promptly left.

16th April, 1912

He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Waves of sorrow washed through Arthur's body, as he read the headline for the Guardian that morning in his house.

_The Titanic Sunk. Loss feared of over 1,500 lives_.

His mouth was dry as he read on, wondering how this could have happened to the 'unsinkable ship'.

_The maiden voyage of the White Star liner Titanic, the largest ship ever launched, has ended in disaster. The Titanic started her trip from Southampton for New York on Wednesday. Late on Sunday night she struck an iceberg off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland_.

Tears dared to spill from his eyes as he stopped reading. He couldn't take any more of it.

'Oh God, all those people.' He whispered to no one in particular, 'All of their families.'

But one thought kept nagging the back of his mind, '_It could have been you_'.

If aboard the ship, he might not have survived, despite the First Class passengers being a top priority. He might be face down in the ocean, frost bite claiming his body and water steadily pouring into his lungs. Arthur shuddered at the morbid thought, putting the paper down and stepping towards his phone, where his hand hovered over the dial.

Had the Prime Minister somehow known?

'_No, Arthur. What a stupid thought. He couldn't have_.' He shook his head, returning to the kitchen table and tried to calm himself with tea, shaking the more he thought about it.

As the years passed, the horror of the night was slowly levelled with relief for Arthur. He was very lucky not to have gone on the ship, and happy about that fact, too. However, he often wondered if a greater force was at work, like a sudden impulse to do something without knowing why. Was that the reason he was alive? No one will know for sure, but to this day, Arthur refuses to watch any film or programme to do with it to stop those creepy chills returning.

**[ A/N – Well… that wasn't really to do with the Titanic at all, was it? I had a bit of a time limit today, and drafted a longer version **_**with **_**France, Germany and possibly America in it and shows that it could have been more than a coincidence, which this copy doesn't really get across… I'll rewrite it properly when I have time I suppose. Hurray for bending history to be completely inaccurate! ]**


End file.
